Synopsis of The Ring
Written by TK
Cordelia is playing around with a new web site she found that is a database of demons. She teases Wesley, and they end up arguing. Angel comes in and asks them if they need to go see a counselor. A man wanders in the door looking beat up and ready to faint. He says his name is Darren MacNamara, and his younger brother Jack was kidnapped by demons. All he has is a finger in a white box that he found in his mailbox this morning. He says Jack owed a lot of money to his bookie 'cause he has a gambling problem.
Angel goes to see the bookie, and the bookie says that he doesn't even want the money anymore, now it's just about using Jack to make a point. Angel asks the bookie where Jack is being held, and after taking a small bribe, the bookie tells Angel where to go. Angel drives off and climbs into a man-hole in a remote place.
Cordelia, using her new web site, looks up the demons that Darren described. She finds out that they're Howler demons.
Angel, in the sewer, gets attacked by Howler demons. He has a tough time fighting them off, but he finally prevails and demands to know where Jack is. They say that they sold Jack, and tell Angel where to.
Angel shows up at a very exclusive gambling club. He sneaks in, and as he's wandering around trying to get the lay of the land, he sees a beautiful woman in a suit dropping one of her gambling tickets. He grabs it before it falls to the ground and gives it back to her. She comments on his fast reflexes and thanks him.
Angel continues to explore the club, and finds the main attraction in the back room. In a pit, surrounded by cheering fans, two demons are fighting to the death. He watches one demon get the other demon down, and then the triumphant demon is thrown a knife and slits his opponent's throat. Just as a new fight is starting, he spots Jack (he had pictures from Darren) walking by on the other side of the room. He goes to follow Jack, and finds himself ambushes in a dark hall by Darren, Jack and a whole bunch of guards. Just as Angel realizes that it was all a setup, and there was no kidnapping, the guards get him with their electric shocking wands and he passes out. Jack comments that Angel will be a crowd pleaser.
Angel wakes up with a strange metal wrist band on. He is surrounded by other demons in a similar situation. Jack comes around, and explains how things work. Everyone here is a fighting slave, and if they cross the big red line (the other side of which Jack is standing on) while wearing the wrist bands, then they get vaporized. The only way they're free is when the wrist band comes off, and the only way to get the wrist band removed is to have 21 kills under your belt.
Back at the office, Wesley and Cordelia are worried that Angel hasn't checked in. Wesley decides to follow Angel's footsteps to try to find him, and goes to see Jack's bookie.
Angel and the other demons are being fed gruel in bowls. A big mean green demon with a frog-like tongue uses his tongue to grab another smaller demon's spoon, and then takes his bowl of gruel as well. Angel tells the green guy to give it back, and the green guy tells Angel to mind his own business. Just as they're about to come to blows, the guards approach with their shocking wands. Angel gives the little demon back his gruel.
Later, the little demon tells Angel that he could have fended for himself, and Angel should have done that. The little demon tells Angel not to rock the boat. Jack comes back, and on his safe side of the red line, tells everyone who will be fighting whom that night. The little demon has been matched up against a fierce demon called Trepkos. The mean green guy says that's not a match, that's a slaughter. The little demon is obviously scared. One large reddish demon who can't take it anymore launches himself at Jack, and as his body flies over the red line, it completely vaporizes and only his metal wrist band lands on the other side. Jack is disappointed, 'cause he paid a lot for that demon, but he figures it's a good lesson for the others.
Wesley is at the bookie's, and witnesses the bookie and some of his pals beating up a poor guy who can't pay his debts. Wesley tells them to stop that, and they laugh at him. Wesley says he's looking for his employer who came by yesterday. The bookie couldn't care less and pulls a gun on Wesley. Wesley pulls out a small crossbow, and expertly shoot the bookie's gun hand. The bookie's hand is pinned to the wall, and the gun goes flying straight into Wesley's hand. Wesley tells the guy who was getting beat up to leave, and then uses the gun and the pain caused when he wiggles the little arrow in the bookie's hand to get the information he wants.
A fight is starting in the pit. The beautiful woman that Angel first saw when he walked into the club is talking to Darren. She mentions that she heard the vampire has a soul, and wonders if that will be a plus or a minus in the fighting ring.
Just as Angel is about to go out and start his fight, the little demon comes up to Angel and says he'll return the favor. He tells Angel that he demon he's fighting has a bad left eye, and to stay on his left. Angel says he has no intention of killing his opponent. As the fight starts, Angel just dodges his opponent's jabs, and the crowd boos.
Cordelia and Wesley are outside the club, and finagle tickets by pretending to be police detectives. As they enter the club, Angel's fight continues. The crowd is still booing, and the demon he is fighting is getting more and more frustrated. Wesley and Cordelia are horrified when they see what's going on. Darren signals to a thug next to him, and the thug throws Angel's opponent a knife. The demon cuts Angel, and Angel goes all vampirey, grabs the demon, and stabs in the gut with his own knife. The demon dies, and Angel leaves the ring dejected rather than triumphant. The crowd is cheering for Angel.
The little demon is being sent to fight Trepkos. Angel tries to convince both of them not to fight, and to fight their captors instead. It doesn't work. As predicted, the little demon doesn't have a chance against Trepkos.
Wesley and Cordelia are outside the club trying to figure out what to do. Wesley recognizes the wrist cuffs as those forged by ancient sorcerers, and says that if he had one to experiment with, he might be able to figure out how to open them. It just so happens that Cordy swiped one.
Jack is on the safe side of the red line, taunting Angel. Angel reaches his hand over the line briefly, just to grab Jack and drag him back over his side of the red line. His arm sparks, but he doesn't disintegrate, and then he has Jack has a hostage. He tells the other demons to search Jack's pockets for a wrist cuff key while he holds him in a headlock, but the other demons don't move. Angel yells at the guards, poised on the other side of the red line, to get Darren. Darren comes in, and Angel says to let them all go or he'll kill Jack. Darren pulls a gun and shoots Jack himself. Angel is horrified that a brother would to that to another brother. The guards rush in with their shocking wands and shock Angel until he passes out again.
Angel wakes up in a nice plush office with the woman from the club. She says her name is Lila Morgan as she pops open a bottle of champagne. Angel realizes that she's a lawyer from Wolfram & Hart. Lila says her law firm bought Angel's contract, and now he's free. Angel assumes that means that he won't be allowed to talk about the fighting club. Lila tells Angel they could work together. Angel refuses, and walks to the door where guards with shocking wands are waiting.
Wesley is at the office, experimenting with substances that conduct just the right amount of electricity to unlock the cuff. He ends up shocking himself across the room. He realizes he needs something that doesn't conduct quite as well as the thin metal rod he was experimenting with.
Angel returns to the demon dungeon, and willingly lets Darren put the wrist cuff back on him. He wants nothing to do with Wolfram & Hart. Darren tells him that tonight he'll be fighting Trepkos, and Trepkos has 20 kills under his belt, so after Trepkos kills Angel Trepkos will be free. Darren reminds Angel that the other enslaved demons won't help him... just like they didn't help him last time.
Wesley is still playing around with the cuff, this time trying to use a thick metal rod. Nothing at all happens. Cordelia suggests using horse-hair, and pulls some out from one of her bracelets. Wesley tries it, and the cuff snaps open.
Angel vs. Trepkos begins. Angel tries to convince Trepkos that if neither of them fights, neither of them dies. Trepkos says he'll kill Angel, and the fight begins. The green guy is watching from the sidelines, and predicts that Angel is dead meant.
Cordelia is wandering around the dungeons, and distracts a guard by asking where the ladies room is while Wesley sneaks in to where the demons are being held. Wesley sees the green guy through the bars, and asks the green guy where Angel is. The green guy says Angel is dead... or he will be in about 20 seconds. Wesley says he has a key to the wrist cuff, and if the green guy will help him get to Angel, he'll set the green guy free too... he'll set everyone free. The green guy uses his frog-like tongue to snatch the key from Wesley's hand and takes off with it.
Angel vs. Trepkos continues. Darren signals one of his thugs, and the thug throws in two large pointy wooden staffs. Trepkos picks his up, and Angel wants to leave his just lying on the ground, but when Trepkos attacks Angel realizes he needs the staff just to protect himself. Angel grabs his staff, and an incredible fight ensues. Wesley rejoins Cordelia in the viewing area and tells her what happened. They realize they have to do something soon. Trepkos stabs Angel with the wooden staff, but below his heart. Angel gets Trepkos down on his back, and has the opportunity to kill him with the pointy tip of the staff under his chin. Angel throws down his weapon and walks away. Meanwhile, the green guy uses Wesley's key to undo his wrist cuff. Trepkos sneaks up behind Angel and starts beating him into a pulp. Just as he's about to deliver a final blow to a staggering Angel, Trepkos catches Angel's eyes. Trepkos backs down. The fight stops. All the cheering from the crowds stop. Darren calls to his guards with the shocking wands, but before he can issue commands, Wesley pulls a gun on him. Meanwhile, the green guy has been freeing all the other demons, and then come pouring out of their dungeon into the fighting pit. Darren grabs at Wesley's gun. There is bedlam. The green guy frees Angel from his cuff. Lila Morgan wanders out with the rest of the fleeing crowd. Demons are kicking guards' asses everywhere. Darren wrestles the gun away from Wesley, but then Cordy pushes him over the edge of the pit and he falls in. The green guy grabs a spare cuff and puts it on Darren. He then tosses Darren to Trepkos who throws Darren over the red line that borders the pit. Darren vaporizes. The green guy frees Trepkos from his wrist cuff. Angel is still a mess from his fight with Trepkos, and Trepkos has to help him out of the ring.
Wesley and Cordelia are supporting a badly injured Angel as they leave the club. Wesley and Cordy are each giving the other credit for coming up with the key. They are all busy congratulating each other on saving the slaves, when they realize what they've really done is set a whole bunch of demons free.
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